[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 150 (Friday, August 3, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40684-40686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-19531]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP01-405-000]


Kern River Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare 
an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed High Desert Lateral 
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

July 31, 2001.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the potential environmental

[[Page 40685]]

impacts of the High Desert Lateral Project. This project would 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Kern River Gas 
Transmission Company (Kern River) in San Bernardino County, 
California.\1\ Kern River would construct about 31.6 miles of 24-inch-
diameter lateral pipeline, as well as an associated tap and three meter 
stations. This EA will be used by the Commission in its decision-making 
process to determine whether the project is in the public convenience 
and necessity.
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    \1\ Kern River's application was filed with the Commission under 
Section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act and Subpart A of Part 157 of the 
Commission's regulations.
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    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted 
by a pipeline company representative about the acquisition of an 
easement to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities. 
The pipeline company would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable 
agreement. However, if the project is approved by the Commission, that 
approval conveys with it the right of eminent domain. Therefore, if 
easement negotiations fail to produce an agreement, the pipeline 
company could initiate condemnation proceedings in accordance with 
state law.
    A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural 
Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need to Know?'' was attached to the 
project notice Kern River provided to landowners. This fact sheet 
addresses a number of typically asked questions, including the use of 
eminent domain and how to participate in the Commission's proceedings. 
It is also available for viewing on the FERC Internet website 
(www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Kern River wants to construct facilities that would enable it to 
deliver an initial 141,000 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of firm capacity 
service (with a total capacity for 282,000 dth/day) to a gas-fired 
electricity generating plant currently under construction in 
Victorville, California. The High Desert Power Project (HDPP), a 
combined-cycle facility, would provide 720 megawatts of new electric 
power in Southern California. Kern River seeks authority to construct 
and operate:
     About 31.6 miles of 24-inch-diameter lateral pipeline (the 
``High Desert Lateral'') extending from interconnections with the 
existing Kern River/Mojave Pipeline Common Facilities and the Pacific 
Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) systems near Kramer Junction to the new 
HDPP;
     A 20-inch-diameter mainline tap and receipt meter station 
(``Kern/Mojave Interconnect''), and a meter station and associated 
piping and valves (``PG&E Interconnect'') at the northern end of the 
proposed High Desert Lateral; and
     A delivery meter station where the High Desert Lateral 
would terminate at the HDPP.
    The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\2\
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    \2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of the appendices were sent 
to all those receiving this notice in the mail. This filing may also 
be viewed on the web at www.ferc.gov using the ``RIMS'' link. For 
instructions on connecting to RIMS refer to the last page of this 
notice.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would affect about 394 
acres of land. About 192 acres of permanent easement and 181 acres of 
temporary construction right-of-way (ROW) would be necessary for 
pipeline construction. Construction of aboveground facilities would 
require an additional 1.2 acres (1.0 acres would be permanent ROW). 
Temporary extra work areas would affect almost 20 acres and would not 
create any new permanent ROW. About 89 percent of the total lateral 
length would be contiguous with existing utility and transportation 
ROWs.

The EA Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the 
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could 
result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a 
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. NEPA also requires us 
\3\ to discover and address concerns the public may have about 
proposals. We call this ``scoping.'' The main goal of the scoping 
process is to focus the analysis in the EA on the important 
environmental issues. By this Notice of Intent (NOI), the Commission 
requests public comments on the scope of the issues we will address in 
the EA. All comments received are considered during the preparation of 
the EA. State and local government representatives are encouraged to 
notify their constituents of this proposal and encourage them to submit 
comments on their areas of concern.
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    \1\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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    We note that Kern River's proposed project has already undergone 
extensive regulatory review, including the issuance of a Biological 
Opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS); an Incidental 
Take Permit from the California Department of Fish and Game; a Record 
of Decision and ROW Grant from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM); and a Final Environmental Impact Statement prepared by the FWS, 
BLM, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Kern River has identified three 
minor route deviations (totaling about 1.1 miles) and a pipe storage 
yard that were outside of the previously surveyed corridor. Our EA will 
discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the construction and 
operation of the proposed project under these general headings:

 Geology and soils
 Water resources
 Vegetation and wildlife
 Cultural resources
 Public safety
 Land use
 Endangered and threatened species

    Our EA will include consideration of the No-Action Alternative and 
possible alternatives to the proposed project or portions of the 
project, where resource conflicts warrant such analysis. To the extent 
appropriate, our EA will also contain recommendations on how to lessen 
or avoid impact on the various resource areas. However, we expect to 
rely heavily on the existing analyses referenced above. As such, issues 
and alternatives evaluated previously will not be revisited.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in the EA. 
Depending on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA 
may be published and mailed to Federal, state, and local agencies, 
public interest groups, interested individuals, affected landowners, 
newspapers, libraries, and the Commission's official service list for 
this proceeding. A comment period will be allotted for review if the EA 
is published. We will consider all comments on the EA before we make 
our recommendations to the Commission.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commentor, your 
concerns will be addressed in the EA and considered by the Commission. 
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the 
proposal, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative 
locations/routes) and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impact. 
The more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. Please 
follow these instructions carefully to ensure that your comments are 
received in time and properly recorded:

[[Page 40686]]

     Send an original and two copies of your letter to: David 
P. Boergers, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First 
St. NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 
Group 1.
     Reference Docket No. CP01-405-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before September 7, 2001.
    Comments, protests and interventions may be filed electronically 
via the Internet in lieu of paper. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and 
the instructions on the Commission's web site under the ``e-Filing'' 
link.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the proceeding known as an 
``intervenor.'' Intervenors play a more formal role in the process. 
Among other things, intervenors have the right to receive copies of 
case-related Commission documents and filings by other intervenors. 
Likewise, each intervenor must provide 14 copies of its filings to the 
Secretary of the Commission and must send a copy of its filings to all 
other parties on the Commission's service list for this proceeding. If 
you want to become an intervenor you must file a motion to intervene 
according to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedure (18 CFR 385.214) (see appendix 2). Only intervenors have the 
right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
    You do not need intervenor status to have your environmental 
comments considered. Additional information about the proposed project 
is available from the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202) 
208-1088 or on the FERC website (www.ferc.gov) using the ``RIMS'' link 
to information in this docket number. Click on the ``RIMS'' link, 
select ``Docket #'' from the RIMS Menu, and follow the instructions. 
For assistance with access to RIMS, the RIMS helpline can be reached at 
(202) 208-2222.
    Similarly, the ``CIPS'' link on the FERC Internet website provides 
access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such 
as orders, notices, and rulemakings. From the FERC Internet website, 
click on the ``CIPS'' link, select ``Docket #'' from the CIPS menu, and 
follow the instructions. For assistance with access to CIPS, the CIPS 
helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2474.

David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-19531 Filed 8-2-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P